Sold Trademarked Products and Got Limited...

mulcahy · #1 12-28-2017

So I had been selling trademarked items on ebay, well knowing what I was doing was wrong/illegal. I ended up getting limited for selling "different items" than usual. Long story short, needed the money for an emergency medical bill.

I submitted the documents that Paypal had asked for, (this is my legit and only account), and now after reading a lot of posts here, I am starting to get anxious that I shouldn't have submitted those documents and had just abandoned the account.

I'm not worried about losing the money at this point... I'm more worried that the authorities will get contacted and I will be in serious trouble. I've read some awful things online.

Please let me know your thoughts.

rsot · #2 12-28-2017

Welcome to the forums - all the best as you master stealth

First question - how many sales, volumewise and saleswise?

Keep in mind that this forum isn't meant to give legal or financial advice in general.

slokor · #3 12-28-2017

Highly doubtful ebay/paypal will contact the authorities because theyre not the party that you offended against. That would be the rights owner of such products and those would usually request the info from ebay/paypal and contact you directly by mail if they were planning on taking any steps against you.
No need to panic just yet. if you do intend to continue with such product sales though itll probably be advisable to proceed using stealth accounts to do so.

mulcahy · #4 12-28-2017

Not looking for legal advice at all. About $1800 profit.

I haven't received any emails or anything in the mail and have taken down my listings.

I'm just curious if you think ebay may contact authorities or anything like that.

Really wish I could rewind a few months ago and change this....

slokor · #5 12-28-2017

Read my response again - already answered your question friend.

mulcahy · #6 12-28-2017

I was replying to the first responded, thank you for your answer! I hope that is the case.

mulcahy · #7 12-28-2017

Do you think it's worth me trying to get my account restored? The only think is I owe money to Paypal credit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slokor

Read my response again - already answered your question friend.

jmag91 · #8 12-28-2017

What did you sell?

MM78 · #9 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmag91

What did you sell?

Used Condoms.

GreenBean · #10 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsot

Welcome to the forums - all the best as you master stealth

First question - how many sales, volumewise and saleswise?

Keep in mind that this forum isn't meant to give legal or financial advice in general.

FFS, you missed the bus again. This is totally Daft. You need a better trick for 2018

The OP joined way back in 2015. You missed the Welcome then.

GreenBean · #11 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by mulcahy

Not looking for legal advice at all. About $1800 profit.

I haven't received any emails or anything in the mail and have taken down my listings.

I'm just curious if you think ebay may contact authorities or anything like that.

Really wish I could rewind a few months ago and change this....

No, you missed what slokor said.

The owners of these trademarked items would contact eBay to get your information.

Your real issue is with what is called the IP rights holder.

In view of what we have said, I would suggest you become silent.... I am sure you get my drift.

rsot · #12 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenBean

FFS, you missed the bus again. This is totally Daft. You need a better trick for 2018

The OP joined way back in 2015. You missed the Welcome then.

Meh, my comments were relevant to the OP. OP should also know better if he/she indeed joined in 2015 and has been active by then.

@OP, PP account is worth saving but if PP sees you as selling risky items....chances are strong that you won't be reinstated regardless of the amount of proofs you submit

yankee · #13 12-29-2017

Unless you have Homeland Security at your door or Certified Letters from the Rights owners you have little to worry about.

You said you sold $1800 in profit but how much did you sell? $1800 is not much in all reality. I personally would never sue someone for $1800.....

mulcahy · #14 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by yankee

Unless you have Homeland Security at your door or Certified Letters from the Rights owners you have little to worry about.

You said you sold $1800 in profit but how much did you sell? $1800 is not much in all reality. I personally would never sue someone for $1800.....

Not much more than that, I was having about 85% profit margins.

mulcahy · #15 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsot

Meh, my comments were relevant to the OP. OP should also know better if he/she indeed joined in 2015 and has been active by then.

@OP, PP account is worth saving but if PP sees you as selling risky items....chances are strong that you won't be reinstated regardless of the amount of proofs you submit

Thanks man, like I said I already submitted my documents to Paypal but it's been about a week and all they've confirmed is my SSN and Address.

I made a mistake when I said all my listings were taken down, there are still some up there but I have set the price so high that no one would ever buy.

Do you think it would look suspicious if I ended every item immediately?

phaz0rz · #16 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by mulcahy

Not much more than that, I was having about 85% profit margins.

You don't have anything to worry about. As long as you don't owe eBay fees they will not pursue you in any way. Like others have said it would be the trademark owner who would pursue you if anyone did. If you didn't receive a cease and desist while your listings were still active, it's safe to assume the trademark owner is not going after you.

phaz0rz · #17 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by mulcahy

Do you think it would look suspicious if I ended every item immediately?

No. It would look perfectly normal for you to end your listings since you are not able to receive any payments with your PP limited.

It's somewhat normal for Paypal to take forever verifying invoices. The absolute worst thing that can result from this is Paypal rejects your invoices and your Paypal becomes permanently limited.

I know you're paranoid right now but everyone here has told you the truth. eBay/Paypal don't sue sellers for selling counterfeits - trademark owners do. Paypal isn't going to report you to the trademark owner.

yankee · #18 12-29-2017

ebay or paypal have no right to take any legal action against you unless you short them money.

mulcahy · #19 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

No. It would look perfectly normal for you to end your listings since you are not able to receive any payments with your PP limited.

It's somewhat normal for Paypal to take forever verifying invoices. The absolute worst thing that can result from this is Paypal rejects your invoices and your Paypal becomes permanently limited.

I know you're paranoid right now but everyone here has told you the truth. eBay/Paypal don't sue sellers for selling counterfeits - trademark owners do. Paypal isn't going to report you to the trademark owner.

Thank you so much for all this information. The only thing is I can actually still receive payments and refund buyers with my limitation. I just can't purchase anything or withdraw my money.

Here's a screenshot of my limitations:

Think it would still be a good idea to end everything?

phaz0rz · #20 12-29-2017

I would end them. There's no point in them being active. On the off-chance one of your items does sell, that would be that much more money you won't have access to for 180 days once your account is fully limited in February.

mulcahy · #21 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

I would end them. There's no point in them being active. On the off-chance one of your items does sell, that would be that much more money you won't have access to for 180 days once your account is fully limited in February.

Awesome thanks. I was just thinking maybe leaving them up but revising them so they look super legit would maybe help with their decision on restoring my account.

mulcahy · #22 12-29-2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by phaz0rz

I would end them. There's no point in them being active. On the off-chance one of your items does sell, that would be that much more money you won't have access to for 180 days once your account is fully limited in February.

Also, do you think I should email paypal to try to speed up the review process?